1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to waders and more particularly to a breathable wader that is shaped to allow for ease of movement in the knee and hip areas and that has seams running vertically on the anterior and posterior sides of the leg portions. The present invention also covers a method of manufacturing the pre-curved wader with front and back seams.
2. Description of the Related Art
Waders are an item of waterproof clothing that is typically worn by individuals while fishing, duck hunting, conducting repairs, or performing other activities in water. Most waders are constructed with a seam on the inside of the leg, or an inseam, and/or a seam on the outside of the leg. That type of seam placement is typical in the design of a pair of pants. The types of fabrics that are used for waders are generally rather stiff; therefore, when two pieces of wader fabric are stitched together and sealed, the result is a very stiff seam. With the traditional seam placement, every time the wearer flexes his knee, as in walking, the inseam and outside seam tend to fold at the knee. This folding can cause the seams to abrade and wear out over time, especially when the inside knees rub against each other. The seam abrasion can be a problem not only in the knee area, but throughout the entire inseam.
There are a number of patents and published patent applications involving waders, but none that addresses the problem of seam abrasion. U.S. Pat. No. 6,438,757 (Quinn, 2002), U.S. Pat. No. 6,363,531 (Quinn, 2002) and U.S. Publication No. 2002/0116742 (Quinn, 2002) provide a waterproof relief outlet in a breathable wader. U.S. Pat. No. 6,389,598 (Westers et al., 2002) discloses a sealably accessible wader system that allows the wearer to urinate without having to remove the wader or draw the wader down. U.S. Pat. No. 6,357,050 (Thompson, 2002) and U.S. Publication No. 2001/0025383 (Thompson, 2001) relate to an apparatus for facilitating the application and removal of waders and wader boots. More particularly, the invention provides a liner that makes it easier to put waders on and take them off and that is intended to prevent the wearer from drowning if the waders become flooded.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,317,893 (Walton, 2001) covers an improved liner system for uninsulated waders. U.S. Pat. No. 6,280,807 (Shih, 2001) discloses an edge joint structure for connecting a waterproof thermal insulation panel with a breathable fabric panel. U.S. Pat. No. 6,167,571 (Cheng, 2001) provides a wader comprising two leg portions and a hip-waist portion, wherein the leg portions are made of a foam material and the hip-waist portion is made of a breathable material. U.S. Pat. No. 6,154,884 (Dehner, 2000) discloses a wader with interconnected upper and lower sections, wherein the lower section is made of a non-breathable, substantially water-impervious synthetic resin material, and the upper section is made of a breathable synthetic resin material.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,901,374 (Foster, 1999) relates to a flexible knee wader that uses a panel of stretch material such as spandex, rubber or rubber compounds, or synthetic rubber, such as neoprene or neoprene sponge, in the knee area to allow the knee to bend freely. The panel of stretch material used at the knee portion of the garment fills an opening formed in the rigid woven fabric material from which the rest of the garment is made. The panel of stretch material is sewn in place and covered with a waterproof tape. One of the objects of this invention was to eliminate the additional inseam material, greater than the user's actual inseam measurement, that is usually required to allow the leg to move upward when the knee is bent during walking.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,867,828 (Shih 1999) discloses a four-layer wader. The four layers include a gas-permeable layer, a waterproof film layer, an outer cover, and a lining. U.S. Pat. No. 5,210,879 (Miller, 1993) is another invention directed toward facilitating urination during fishing. It provides a closeable, integrally formed extendable tubular member at the crotch. U.S. Pat. No. 5,022,096 (Pacanowsky, 1991) relates to a multicomponent, waterproof, breathable wader. The wader comprises waterproof, breathable, non-elastic, non-stretch right and left panels, each of which has a shape of a legging with an upper and lower region. The upper regions of the right and left panels are joined together at a seam, and the front and back regions of each legging panel are joined together at an “interior” seam. The patent does not disclose or claim seams that run vertically on the anterior and posterior sides of the leg portions of the wader.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,912,860 (Keller, 1990) covers a dual-height wader that has a body portion covering the lower body and a chest portion normally folded inside the body portion but extendable upward around the chest. U.S. Pat. No. 4,858,342 (Nicholson et al., 1989) discloses a method for making a thermoplastic-rubber wader with a rubber footwear bottom and a thermoplastic upper portion. Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 4,117,609 (Helt, 1978) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,044,478 (Girard, 1977) provide a rip cord safety device for waders and a quick release for waders, respectively.
In addition to the above patented inventions, at least one manufacturer has marketed a wader that has front and/or back seams, but the seams are radiofrequency-welded, not sewn and sealed, and the wader is not made of a breathable fabric (as in the present invention). The radiofrequency welding causes the seams to stick out approximately one-quarter of an inch (¼″) from the surface of the wader, whereas the sewn-and-sealed seams of the present wader are flat. The radiofrequency-welded wader is not pre-curved as is the wader of the present invention and does not provide nearly the articulation in the knee and hip areas as the present invention does.
As is apparent from the foregoing discussion, no patent or published application to date has dealt with the problem of seam abrasion in waders or the discomfort caused by the traditional seam placement. It is an object of the present invention to provide a functional solution to the problem of seam abrasion in waders, particularly in the inseam area, and the problem of wearer discomfort caused by stiff seams. Seam abrasion can be particularly problematic with respect to waders due to the safety and comfort issues implicated when water enters the wader. The present invention solves these problems by changing the placement of the seams and by shaping the wader around the knee and hip regions to allow for ease of movement. By eliminating the inseams and outside seams altogether, the potential for fabric failure is drastically reduced. Not only is the wearer's comfort level increased, but the manufacturer's cost of repair is reduced.